The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, communicated his condolences on Wednesday to the families of the fatalities due to the effects of heavy rains in the northern state of Aragua, in Venezuela.
The secretary’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, has stated that Guterres “was saddened to learn of the loss of dozens of lives and damage to infrastructure in Venezuela as a result of floods and landslides resulting from the heavy rainy season.”
“(Guterres) extends his deepest condolences to the government and the affected families,” Dujarric said.
Likewise, the UN has explained that it is “providing support, in coordination with national authorities, to meet the needs of the most affected people.” Still, he has shown his willingness to offer additional assistance “at this very difficult time.”
On October 8, after the formation of a trough in the north of Venezuela, the overflow of five streams was reported due to heavy rainfall in the area, which caused a large avalanche in Las Tejerias, which claimed the lives of more fifty people, according to TeleSur.
The intense rain began on Saturday afternoon and lasted until late at night, causing landslides, rocks and trees that devastated 21 sectors of this town, one of the poorest in the state of Aragua.
Days later, on October 17, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reported that three other people had died due to overflowing rivers in El Castano, also in the state of Aragua.
“We have two natural disaster fronts. We come here from Tejerias. We have to deal with both fronts with force, with everything we have available,” Maduro said on Monday.
Maduro later stressed that these floods are the result of the “harmful” effect of climate change, since weather events are increasingly intense and devastating.
